Angels: Every record Albert Pujols will break

Jan. 4, 2012

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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Milestone: 300 home runs as an Angel The day Pujols signed his 10-year deal, the Angels' all-time home run record was in jeopardy. Salmon hit 299. Pujols would need to average 30 per year to pass him. While it's not real likely he'll hit 30 as a 41-year-old (though certainly not impossible), it wouldn't be crazy to expect a progression like: 40-37-35-35-35-33-30-27-20-20. Let me add that up... that's 312. On the other hand, only five players in history have ever hit 300 home runs from their age-32 season on. Three of them were Bonds, Palmeiro and McGwire. The others were Aaron and Ruth. This isn't a slam dunk.Estimated date he achieves it: Late 2020 or early 2021. PHOTO BY MICHAEL GOULDING, OCR. TEXT BY SAM MILLER, OCR

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Milestone: 500 home runs as a Major Leaguer Five hundred home runs has lost some of its sparkle, with 40 percent of the players who have ever reached it doing so in the past decade. For Pujols, reaching 500 home runs will be a little like a future Ph.D. candidate graduating high school; it's a thrill, but it's just one step toward something bigger. Still, it'll be a milestone Angels fans will get to enjoy soon, as Pujols is just 55 away. It has taken Pujols exactly eight months to hit his most recent 55 home runs. So we'll say he reaches the milestone just before the All-Star break in 2013, if you're blacking out days on the calendar and planning to buy seats in the left-field corner. Alex Rodriguez' 500th home run ball recently sold for $103,000. Estimated date he achieves it: July 1, 2013. PHOTO BY KEN STEINHARDT, OCR. TEXT BY SAM MILLER, OCR

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Milestone: 763 home runs Pujols has 445 home runs through his age-31 season, which is the fourth-most ever -- more than Bonds had, than Aaron had, than Ruth had. That doesn't mean he's anywhere close to a sure thing to take over the all-time home run record, though. Ken Griffey, Jr. had 460 at this stage in his career and barely surpassed 600 in the end. But if Pujols plays all 10 seasons with the Angels, and averages 32 home runs per season, he would pass Barry Bonds' record. He has hit more than 32 home runs every year of his career, and hit 37 in 2011. If he averages 36 per season, or if he plays into his mid-40s, he would challenge 800. As Aaron and Bonds (and Griffey) showed, it's about who can fend off decline the longest. Estimated date he achieves it: It's such a longshot, that we'll just guess the last day of the contract -- early October, 2021. Why not? PHOTO BY KEN STEINHARDT, OCR. TEXT BY SAM MILLER, OCR

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Milestone: 3,000 hits as a Major Leaguer Albert Pujols is only 32, and he already has 2,073 hits. He has more hits than Wally Joyner had in his career. Lot of hits. To get to 3,000, he basically needs to not see his career cut short in any way; 900 hits after 32 is no rare thing -- 143 people have done it, including Eric Young, Todd Zeile, Matt Stairs. Of course, a lot of great hitters haven't, including Garret Anderson. But he should make it, no problem. Estimated date he achieves it: June 15, 2017. PHOTO BY MICHAEL GOULDING, OCR. TEXT BY SAM MILLER, OCR

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Milestone: 3,500 hits as a Major Leaguer This one is much harder. Only five players -- Rose, Cobb, Musial, Aaron, Speaker -- have passed 3,500 hits, and Pujols would need to average about 143 hits per season for the next decade to get there. That's tough, but it should be easier than getting 300 more home runs; 20 players have at least 1,427 hits from age-32 on. Only two have 2,000 hits from age 32 on, though, so let's put 4,000 out of our minds for now. Estimated date he achieves it: September 18, 2020. PHOTO BY MICHAEL GOULDING, OCR. TEXT BY SAM MILLER, OCR

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Milestone: 2000 runs as a Major Leaguer With 1,291 runs scored through his age-31 season, Pujols ranks seventh all time at this stage of his career. Only seven players have reached 2,000 runs in their careers, and Pujols would -- with 71 runs per season as an Angel -- join Ruth, Aaron, Bonds, Cobb, Gehrig, Rose and Henderson above that mark. Whether he can pass Rickey Henderson's record -- 2,296 -- is a more difficult question to answer, and the answer is probably not. Only five players have scored 1,000 runs from their age 32 season on, and four of them were very fast, so could survive the slow deterioration of their speed. Also, there's no guarantee that 2,296 will remain the record by the time Pujols approaches it, as Alex Rodriguez had a 210-run head start on Pujols after his age-31 season. Estimated date he achieves 2,000: May 15, 2020 Estimated date he achieves 2,296: Never. PHOTO BY KEN STEINHARDT, OCR. TEXT BY SAM MILLER, OCR

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Milestone: 605 doubles as a Major Leaguer Pujols has 445 doubles, which is the second-most ever through age 31. The record for doubles is 792, which is *probably* out of reach. (Only five players have hit at least 447 doubles from 32 on.) The round number to aim for is 600, but 605 is more interesting because it would put him in the top 10 ever. Pujols' doubles have been dropping, from 45 in 2009 to 39 to 29, and 30 per year from here out seems generous. Estimated date he achieves 600: June 20, 2016. PHOTO BY KEN STEINHARDT, OCR. TEXT BY SAM MILLER, OCR

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Milestone: 6,857 total bases as a Major Leaguer Hank Aaron has the record, with 6,856. Pujols ranks fifth all-time through age-31, but fourth is Mel Ott and sixth is Ken Griffey, Jr., serving as reminders that the 30s can be a tough time to accumulate stats. Only one player -- Pete Rose -- got as many total bases after 32 as Pujols needs to pass Aaron, and Rose had the benefit of being his own manager. More realistically, Pujols could get to 6,000, as 31 players have had the 2,107 total bases he needs from 32 on. One of those 31 is Omar Vizquel. Another is Raul Ibanez. And Steve Finley. Very doable. Estimated date he achieves 6,000: April 19, 2019. PHOTO BY KEN STEINHARDT, OCR. TEXT BY SAM MILLER, OCR

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Milestone: 2,298 RBIs as a Major Leaguer Pujols ranks sixth all-time in RBIs through his age-31 season, with 24 more than career-record-holder Hank Aaron. He needs 969 more, which would require 97 RBI per season if he were to make it during his 10-year Angels contract. Pujols has never had fewer than 97 RBIs, but there are some obstacles. One is that offense is down league-wide, and the years of 130+ RBI seasons for Pujols are probably over; he had a career-low 99 in 2011. Another is that he goes to a lineup that isn't known for its on-base percentage. And he will have little protection for the next couple years, so he'll be intentionally walked in a lot of RBI opportunities. Finally, only five players -- Ruth, Bonds, Edgar Martinez, Aaron and Palmeiro -- had at least 969 RBIs from 32 on, which is what Pujols needs. If he makes it, you'll know the Angels got a ton for their money. Estimated date he achieves 2,000: May 4, 2020. Estimated date he achieves 2,298: Probably never. PHOTO BY KEN STEINHARDT, OCR. TEXT BY SAM MILLER, OCR

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Milestone: 1,024 runs as an Angel Garret Anderson left as a free agent with 1,024 runs scored as an Angel, which is the franchise record. Pujols could match it by scoring 102 runs per year. Pujols has scored 100 runs in all but one of his seasons, and scored at least 120 four times. But 100 runs is an awful lot for a 37-year-old, let alone a 38-, 39-, 40- or 41-year old.In fact, over the past three years, no player who was 37 or older has scored 100 runs in a single season. To reach even 1,000, Pujols will need to age extremely well, play long past his 41st birthday, or score 120 or so runs in each of the first five years of the contract. Estimated date he achieves 1,024:: Maybe 2024, if he sticks around that long. PHOTO BY KEN STEINHARDT, OCR. TEXT BY SAM MILLER, OCR

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Milestone: 112 intentional walks as an Angel Vladimir Guerrero has the franchise record, but Pujols could pass it, especially with little protection behind him early in the contract. We'll see how the lineup dynamic works, but it wouldn't be a shock to see Pujols intentionally walked at least 30 times in 2012, as he was in 2008, 2009 and 2010. He could break Vlad's record by the end of year four, as the Angels' best bet at adding another elite hitter to the lineup is Mike Trout, who will likely bat somewhere in front of Pujols. Estimated date he achieves 112:: June 1, 2016 PHOTO BY KEN STEINHARDT, OCR. TEXT BY SAM MILLER, OCR

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Milestone: 796 extra-base hits as an Angel Hard to imagine that Garret Anderson's franchise record is in play, but Pujols has 827 extra-base hits in his past 10 years; if he manages to stay healthy and hit as well into his 40s as Hank Aaron, Ted Williams and Barry Bonds, he could conceivably average 80 per year for the next decade. Nobody has come close to 796 extra-base hits after age 32, though; the closest is Barry Bonds, at 722, and then it drops all the way to Edgar Martinez at 615. So. Estimated date he achieves 796:: Nope. PHOTO BY KEN STEINHARDT, OCR. TEXT BY SAM MILLER, OCR

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Single-season Angels records that are in play: 48 home runs (Pujols has hit 49, 47 and 46) 125 runs (Pujos has topped this three times) 140 RBIs (Pujols' career-high is 135) 1.024 OPS (Pujols has topped this six times, most recently in 2009) 29 intentional walks (Pujols averaged 39 from 2008 to 2010) .604 slugging percentage (Pujols has topped this seven times, most recently in 2009) .430 on-base percentage (Pujols has topped this five times, most recently in 2009) AP PHOTO. TEXT BY SAM MILLER, OCR

Milestone: 300 home runs as an Angel The day Pujols signed his 10-year deal, the Angels' all-time home run record was in jeopardy. Salmon hit 299. Pujols would need to average 30 per year to pass him. While it's not real likely he'll hit 30 as a 41-year-old (though certainly not impossible), it wouldn't be crazy to expect a progression like: 40-37-35-35-35-33-30-27-20-20. Let me add that up... that's 312. On the other hand, only five players in history have ever hit 300 home runs from their age-32 season on. Three of them were Bonds, Palmeiro and McGwire. The others were Aaron and Ruth. This isn't a slam dunk.Estimated date he achieves it: Late 2020 or early 2021.PHOTO BY MICHAEL GOULDING, OCR. TEXT BY SAM MILLER, OCR

Tucked into Albert Pujols' contract are the milestone incentives: $7 million for breaking Barry Bonds' home run mark, $3 million for his 3,000th hit. And that's when it hits you: The Angels have a player who is going to reach every milestone, and challenge team and major league records, all while wearing an Angels uniform. And you get to watch!

Click through the photos to see the baseball and Angels team records that Pujols could pass, and how likely he is to get there, and by when.

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